Press Release: Buy-side and sell-side stakeholders recognise the role of programmatic in driving business impacts

Brussels, 8th June 2016

Reduction of media wastage and greater cost and trading efficiencies are identified as the biggest business impacts when investing in programmatic, the second IAB Europe Attitudes towards Programmatic Advertising survey* reveals.

Based on a survey of more than 900 advertisers, agencies and publishers from across 29 markets, the study provides clarity on the current status of programmatic adoption and stakeholders’ perspectives on its potential for strategic competitive advantage.

With only 13% of advertisers, 8% of publishers and 7% of media agencies claiming that they are not using programmatic technology, the study shows that almost everybody in the industry is now deploying some form of programmatic advertising.

Meanwhile, respondents have named reduction of media wastage (56% of advertisers; 72% of agencies) and greater cost and trading efficiencies (47% of advertisers; 48% of agencies; 68% of publishers) as the most important impacts of programmatic. This highlights growing recognition among the industry that as programmatic matures, it contributes to key advertising objectives such as scaling mobile campaigns and reaching consumers more effectively with branding messages.

Greater integration with wider ad measurement models and increasing sophistication beyond the click are other two other key factors driving programmatic adoption.

With benefits clearly recognised and cited in the research, and emergence of proven models, programmatic adoption is likely to continue to grow. Indeed, all stakeholders remain optimistic about the outlook of programmatic with over 90% of them citing an increase in investment over the next 12 months.

But the benefits are accompanied by challenges, and significant barriers to adoption remain. The biggest bottleneck is finding the people with the right skills and experience to navigate this brave new world successfully.

Graham Wylie, Chair of IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee and Senior Director of Market Development & Channels at AppNexus said: “Programmatic is no longer the future, it is here. The continued growth and increasing confidence shown in this research is testament to the industry’s recognition of its powerful contribution to business growth. Whilst both buy and sell-side have made major strides in adoption, some barriers still remain. By sharing detailed insight across the industry this research aims to inspire businesses to deploy programmatic to its full potential.”

Geir Jangås, Head of Global Programmatic at Schibsted said: “Programmatic is not an option in digital advertising today. The whole marketing discipline is turning to a proprietary programmable landscape, and programmatic is just the beginning of this. Not doing programmatic today could mean you will be out of play in a few years and not be able to maximise your marketing investments.”

The research was initiated and designed by IAB Europe’s Programmatic Trading Committee. The Committee is a multi-stakeholder initiative helping publishers, agencies and advertisers increase their understanding of the programmatic ecosystem and the impact it is having on digital advertising. It is focused on producing educational white papers, thought-leadership webinars and blogs and industry insights.

The full report will be published by the end of June and will illustrate the attitudes towards programmatic display advertising, current adoption and strategies, on both the buy-side and sell-side of the digital advertising industry. For the first time the report will show how programmatic models are evolving as markets develop in experience and sophistication.

* IAB Europe Attitudes towards Programmatic Advertising survey
The survey illustrates the attitudes towards programmatic display advertising, current adoption and strategies, on both the buy-side and sell-side of the digital advertising industry.

About IAB Europe
IAB Europe is the voice of digital business and the leading European-level industry association for the interactive advertising ecosystem. Its mission is to promote the development of this young and innovative sector by shaping the regulatory environment, investing in research and education, and developing and facilitating the uptake of business standards. Together with its members – companies and national trade associations – IAB Europe represents over 5,500 organisations